With few exceptions, embryonic stem cells have only been grown from blastocyst-stage embryos. ES cell lines are conventionally isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts. There are several drawbacks to the techniques used to create these cells. From the perspective of the technique, the culturing of embryos to blastocysts occasionally has a relatively low success rate. Additionally, certain members of the public object to embryonic stem (ES) cell research using cell lines derived from the inner cell mass of blastocysts because this derivation procedure destroys the preimplantation, blastocyst-stage embryo. As such, the blastocyst-stage embryo from which ES cells are conventionally produced cannot be cryopreserved, frozen for later use, or permitted to develop further.
The present invention provides novel methods for deriving ES cells, ES cell lines, and other embryo-derived (ED) cells for use in research and medicine. The methods described herein permit the derivation of ES cells, ES cell lines, and other ED cells from embryos but without the need to destroy those embryos.